Button-clasp



W. B. RUNK.

BUTTON CLASP.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 22. 19m.

Patented Map. 2,1920.

TURNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM B. RUNK, 0F SHELTON, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO ROBERT N. BASSETT COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF SHELTON', CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

BUTTON-CLASP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mai-.2,1920

Application filed November 22, 1918. Serial No. 263,702.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. RUNK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Shelton, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Button-Clasps, of which the following is a specification.

`l\ly invention relates to metal mountings for running webbing of the class wherein two members are hinged together by means of pintles journaled in bearings,and its object is to produce a device of this character in which the constituent parts can be assembled by hand thereby dispensing with the press or machine generally employed during the assembling operation.

For the purpose of enabling the invention to be better understood by those skilled in the art I have embodied the same in the button clasp herein illustrated and described which is distinguished from other button clasps in that one side of the bearing is cut away for the passage of one of the pintles t during the assembling operation.

I attain this and other objects of my invention in the device set forth in the following description and accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to corresponding parts.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a rear view of a button clasp carried by the lower extremity of a supporting webbing; y

Fig. Q, a central vertical section taken on line ena@ in Fig. 1, and

Figs. 3 and si, rear views showing the position of the parts during the process of assembling.

The button clasp, which is shown depending from a fold in the extremity of the supporting strap A, consists of an attaching loop B, a button loop C, and a button tab or tape I) which carries a button E at its lower extremity. The button loop C, which is connected to the lower side of the loop B by a bearing sleeve F projecting from the upper side thereof, is provided with a bridge G and has the sides of its lower extremity contracted to engage the shank of the button E. The device thus far described is one of the common forms of button clasps well known in the art and is merely disclosed for the purpose of showing how my invention is applied. The attaching loop B is formed out of wire the extremities of which terminate in the pintles 2, 2. The portion of the loop immediately beyond the outer ends of the pintles are provided with offset menr bers or .shoulders 3, 3. The button loop C is made out of the sheet metal, and is provided with a projecting strap at its upper extremity which is curled to form a sleeve member or pintle bearing F. This pintle bearing is cut away on its under side to form openings extending from each end of the bearing toward the middle thereof but not necessarily the full length of the bearing. The side edges 5, 5 of each opening are inclined upwardly and outwardly to serve as cams in a manner which will presently appear.

To assemble the clasp one of the parts is grasped in each hand and the divided lower side of the attaching loop where the pintles are formed is pressed against one of the cam-shaped edges 5 on one side of the bearing causing the ends 6, 6 of the pintles to be sprung apart in a direction transversely to their axis, so that, by a lateral movement of the parts relatively to each other, the edge 5 of the bearing sleeve is passed be# tween the ends of the pintles causing one pintle to enter the sleeve and the other pintle to slide along its outside wall as shown in Fig. 3. The sliding of the parts one on the other is continued and the parts folded toward each other until the outside pintleA is opposite the opening l and its end 6 passed over cam-shaped edge 5. When the parts have assumed this position the outside pintle 2 will snap over the edge 5 of the opening I into the bearing. On account of the attaching loop, which has been distorted by the spreading of the pintles, resuming its normal shape, the parts now having assumed the position shown in Fig. 4t. By now turning up the attaching loop, that is by folding the loops so that they will both be disposed in the same plane, the shoulder 3 will en` gage the cam-shaped edge 5 thereby causing the parts to slide laterally on each other until the shoulder 3 clears the end of the bearing and can swing backwardly and forwardly in its normal position. In this manner the pintles may be quickly slipped into their bearings by a simple hand-operation.

In assembling my device in the manner above described not only the expense of the presses or other machinery usually employed for this purpose is eliminated, but it enables the assembling to be done outside of the factory where the metal parts are made and further it enables the separate parts `to be made in different factories, so that one concern may furnish the sheet metal parts and another concern the wire parts and a third concern assemble the. parts. It should be further 'noticed that should the occasion arise for disassembling the parts' this operation may also be performed by folding the parts toward each other and slipping either one ofthe pintles over the adjacent cam edge out of the bearing and slidingthe parts laterally. Of course "it is obvious that when 'the attaching loop is made of sheet 'metal and the button loop is made `of 'wire the former may 'carry the bearing and the latter the pintl'es.

' While I have herein described my invention as applied to button clasps for hose supporters yet the saine may be embodied in lany articulated metal mountings for running Webbingwhich may fairly come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having now Idescribed my invention what I claim and desire to protect' by Letters Patent'is: t '1. A metal mounting for running webbing comprising two articulated members one of which is provided with a sleeve having a lateralfopening and the other member with inwardly projecting 'pint'les' Yand vabutting shoulders at the 'outer ends of said pintles, thesaid 'pintles being journaled in y'said Asleeve and the l'said lateral opening Iextending from one end Aof 'said sleeve r'toward the middle thereof and having a cam-shaped edge for causing the parts to slide laterally relatively to each other vwhen one of the said shoulders is engaged by said cam-shaped edge and the parts are folded away from each other.

2. A metal mounting for running webbing comprising two articulated members one of which is provided with inwardly projecting pintles and the other member with a sleeve having lateral openings extending inwardly from each end thereof toward the middle, the said openings having cam-shaped edges for causing the parts to slide laterally relatively to eachother when one of said parts is yengaged by one yof* said edges and the two parts are folded away from each other.

3. Abutton clasp comprising 'an attaching loop bent up out of a single piece of wire 'the extremities of which terminate in linwardly projecting pintles and vabutting loutwardly inclined edges whereby, when one of Isaid shoulders is engaged by one of v'said edges `and 'the two loops are folded away from each other, the pintles willslide into their normal positions in the bearing.

` In testimony whereof Ihave hereunto set my hand this 8th vday of November 1918;

WILLIAM B. RUNK. 

